The conventional wisdom has been that living together before marriage was more likely to lead to divorce if the couple should end up marrying. Even for today’s generation, which has been more reluctant to marry, many assumed that cohabitation was likely lead to divorce down the line. New research from a study involving 22,000 people shows that this may no longer be the case.

Both sides, though, may be correct. Back in the 1960s, few couples moved in together before marrying (only about 10 percent), and they did in fact end up with higher divorce rates. As times have changed, however, more and more couples cohabitate (the number is substantially higher at 60 percent). Today, cohabitation is less likely to lead to divorce, but that depends on the status of the couple living together.

Researchers in the study found that couples who were engaged and living together were just as likely to have marriages that lasted at least 15 years as couples who had never lived together. 60 percent of marriages lasted at least 15 years when the couple had never lived together or only lived together while they were engaged.

The numbers were lower for couples who lived together without being engaged prior to getting married. The percentage of marriages of such couples that lasted to 15 years was lower, standing at 53 percent.

Have your own experiences confirmed or refuted any of these new findings?